Ever since video games were first created there has always been a type of game that most people dread: edutainment games. Designed for learning instead of accomplishing traditional video game tasks like slaying monsters or saving princesses have generally been a tough sell for players who just want to, you know, do the fun stuff. But video games really can be a great learning tool, and now we have one designed to teach you a new language while you slay enemies.
Enter Lingo Legend. An indie game that wants to teach the player how to learn a new language and actually seems to understand what it is that makes a video game fun. The trailer for the game showcases a playstyle where players do damage by correctly translating sentences into other languages. Players can also craft weapons and build a deck to flesh out their own unique attack methods. More importantly, the entire game is supposed to help someone learn a new language. Think Duolingo, but more gaming focused.
This is a concept that is really cool and if it works may help inspire more fleshed out and interesting educational style games. And for anyone that thinks a video game can’t be anything more than a video game, they should look at Ring Fit Adventure. That’s a game that is not only a good for exercising, but is a fun video game on top of that. Lingo Legend isn’t a 1-for-1 copy of it by any means, with the deck builder aspect being the biggest difference, but the idea of an RPG that can make a mundane task interesting is a good one.
Anyone interested in giving Lingo Legend a try can sign up to play the Beta on their website. It will be released to iOS and Android.